Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Cheers to a sold out EXPO!

It’s official—the Louisiana Foodservice & Hospitality
EXPO is a sell out! With more than 300 exhibiting companies, 80 of which are
new to the EXPO, all we need now is YOU.

Join us Saturday, August 3 for a cake and champagne toast to
celebrate the EXPO’s 60th Anniversary with special guest National
Restaurant Association Chairman Phil Hickey. The festivities begin at 10:45
a.m. at the New Orleans Morial Convention Centerin the
lobby ofHall I. We’ll recognize our sponsors, raise a glass to our
industry’s talent, cut the ribbon and open the show.

For a stroll down memory lane, we sat down with Sandy Riddle
who has been producing the EXPO for a whopping 30 years!

“The EXPO has certainly evolved over the years,” recalls
Riddle, EVP of the EXPO. “We used to actually have two shows, one in New
Orleans and one in Shreveport, but in the1980’s they
were merged and from then on it’s been in New Orleans.”

Prior to being at the Convention Center, the show was at the
River Gate, where Harrah’s Casino now sits. Following the opening of the
Convention Center after the 1984 World’s Fair, the EXPO moved into Hall A which
in comparison to today’s space was tiny.

“In 1985, we had between 80-100 exhibiting companies and
about 2,000 attendees,” she shared. “We outgrew that space in just a few years,
primarily because we needed more dock space, especially with the number of
refrigerated trucks required to service the EXPO.”

Each year, the EXPO theme changes and the visual elements
updated, which affords exhibitors some creative license with their displays.
The themes have ranged from License to Serve, Putting on the Ritz, Feast at the
Table, the Art of Hospitality and so many others.

“Each fall, we all start brainstorming to come up with a
new, exciting theme. A Toast to Talent was just perfect to commemorate 60 years
of the EXPO,” said Riddle. “With the talent that exists in Louisiana’s culinary
community, I look forward to celebrating with our exhibitors and attendees.”